My Cardboard Balcony

Spiders Know No Season by Belinda Roddie Spiders know no season, though they do indeed weave summer tapestries and modern mosaics on autumn leaves. They string springtime shelters before they make vacation homes by the sea. A bit of silver lining never hurt a tree or wall or corner in a barn or near the canopy. Then when winter cobwebs droop their shaggy beards, the patterned eyes weep pearls. Spiders don't mind the cold. It keeps them strong.

I didn't see anything at first as I crouched by the small basement window and peered out. Then I saw feet. Lots of them. Many of them were sheltered by low-top converses, mostly purples and blacks and blues. I had to get out there somehow, so I tapped feverishly on the pane and hoped someone would notice. The door was glued shut nearby. Ultimately I saw a face instead of a foot soon enough.